


I'll Be Better/ You're Just Fine

by platonicUnderling



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Slow Burn, kiyoyachi - Freeform, no preestsblished relationship, shimizu kiyoko - Freeform, slight angst I guess, yachi hitoka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-09-19 07:34:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9426458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/platonicUnderling/pseuds/platonicUnderling
Summary: "Kiyoko Shimizu was tired. Kiyoko Shimizu was always tired. At least, that's what her mother said."Kiyoko Shimizu seems calm and collected, perfect in every way. She is a top student, good at sports, and beautiful. To some, though, this just isn't enough. Kiyoko Shimizu's mother didn't want to raise an emotionless child. She didn't want to raise any child. In essence, Kiyoko Shimizu's mother did not raise a child. She lived with one, yes, but Kiyoko Shimizu did the raising herself.





	1. Chapter 1

Kiyoko Shimizu was tired. 

Kiyoko Shimizu was always tired- at least that's what her mother said. It wasn't that she always complained- in fact, she never complained about anything. There were no bags under her eyes. She didn't slump or slouch. She stood like a robot, like an ice sculpture; void of life, of emotion. 

When Kiyoko Shimizu's mother said that she was tired, she didn't mean that she lacked sleep. Her existence was tired. Tiring. Ice sculptures can only stay cold and frigid for so long, before they melt. 

As Kiyoko sat at the breakfast table, her mother let out a sigh. "Shimizu," she whined. "I told you to be out of the house by 7:30." "Yes mother," she said. Her words were monotone. She didn't look up from her meal. "It's 7:28." "You better hurry up, or you'll be late. I didn't raise a truant."

Her mother took Shimizu's plate from its place in front of her. Nothing was eaten. Nothing was ever eaten. "Yes, mother." Kiyoko said. "I'll be better."

\----------------------------

Kiyoko Shimizu walked to school. 

Kiyoko Shimizu always walked to school. She walked alone, every morning. It wasn't like she preferred silence, or anything. It wasn't that she didn't have friends. People always seemed to watch her. They watched whatever she did, glancing away only to make sure that they weren't the only one watching. They never spoke to her, though. 

Shimizu didn't know it, but she had been put on a pedestal in front of her classmates. A huge, sparkling, ivory pedestal that she had almost no hope of coming down from unless it was due to a very long, very hard fall. 

\---------------------------

When Kiyoko Shimizu cared about something, you could tell. 

It was an odd sensation, one that very few people have seen and even fewer have been the cause of. 

Her eyes would glint, and her cheeks would hollow just a little bit. It was such a small thing, but when- if- you ever did see it, it made every hair on your body stand straight up on edge. 

\-------------------------

Kiyoko Shimizu was tired. Kiyoko Shimizu was always tired. At least, that's what her mother said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh gosh I hope this turns out ok

Kiyoko Shimizu sucked in a breath, and opened the doors. She was immediately greeted with the sound of sneakers against the floor and the shouts of boys who were, in her opinion, much too enthusiastic at 7:45 in the morning. Shimizu would never admit it, but she really did love the Karasuno volleyball club. 

They volleyball club loved her too, just much more vocally. 

"Shimizu-saaan!" Shouted a robust voice. "Ryuu! Don't be so familiar with Kiyoko-san!" A lighter, easier voice called back. Shimizu sighed. The two boys ran up to fawn over her, as they did every morning. "Kiyoko-san, did you get new glasses?" "No." "Kiyoko-san, did you do something with your hair?" "No." "Kiyoko-san, are you free this next Satur-" 

"Enough!" Shouted an exasperated team captain. Daichi Sawamura marched over and grabbed the two boys by their practice jerseys. "Kiyoko-san, will you head over to the office? Takeda-sensei needed to ask you something," he said through an obviously forced smile. No one would ever hear it, but as Shimizu walked through the doors of the gym for the second time that morning, she let out a tiny giggle.  
\--------------------------  
"So sorry to call you out here, Ms. Kiyoko, but I have a favor to ask of you." Shimizu nodded at her teacher and volleyball advisor. She had always thought that Takeda-sensei was charming, albeit a little odd. 

"Seeing as you are now a third year, and we are halfway through the school year already, I think it's time you get to finding a new club manager. I don't mean to be imposing or anything but I..."

Takeda's voice trailed off then at the sight of Kiyoko Shimizu, eyes gleaming and cheeks puffed just slightly. He felt a shiver run down his back. 'So this is Kiyoko Shimizu,' he thought. 

"A-anyway," he said, sputtering back to life. "I think it's important that we have someone readily available next year, and who better than someone chosen by our team's most respected member?" 

Shimizu nodded and exited the office without a word. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. For the first time in what felt like her whole life, Kiyoko Shimizu was excited.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dang this took forever sorry

Kiyoko Shimizu sat in her room, hunched over a tiny desk in the very back corner. There was paper littering the floor, and her entire body was shaking. Kiyoko Shimizu was going to choose a new team manager. 

Shimizu's mother sat downstairs at the kitchen table, cigarette in hand. She took a drag and let out a long sigh. She had always wondered why Shimizu was so distant, usually just passing the blame off to her absentee husband. Little did she know that starting today, Shimizu was supercharged for action. It was like she had been struck by lightning. 

After today, nothing would be the same.  
\----------------------------

Kiyoko Shimizu spoke with Daichi Sawamura the next morning. He had already chosen who would be the next captain, and she wanted to know if there was any special trick to it. 

"Honestly," he sighed. "You'll know. It probably sounds really weird right now, but trust me. Just go to places where there are a lot of people. You'll see the one. She'll be sparkling." 

Kiyoko nodded, despite having absolutely no idea what the captain had meant. She decided to take it as literally as possible, though, and went to the most populated part of the high school- the first year hall.  
\--------------------------

Kiyoko Shimizu moved through the crowd of students with little to no friction. They almost seemed to part on sight of her. She walked slowly down the hall, scanning the faces. Earlier, she had come across the small boy, number 10, and his angry companion. They looked almost like a couple to her. She smiled to herself as she continued her slow, deliberate pace. 

Shimizu came to a stop at the end of the hall. She had seen no one who 'sparked', though she may have been applying the term a bit too strictly. She was just about to give up when-

"Ah! My eyes!" A tiny voice shrieked. Kiyoko whipped around to see a petite blonde girl collapsed on the floor, covered in glitter. "Now we'll have to go buy more! Be careful next time, Hitoka!" Scolded a friend who had helped her to her feet. Shimizu stood in awe of the person before her, who was

Quite literally

Sparkling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Katie wrote another chapter

Yachi Hitoka was now experiencing what may have been the most embarrassing moment in her life. Here she was, struggling to her feet, covered in pink glitter, when lo and behold- here was the most beautiful person she had ever seen staring at her like she had just grown a second head. 

This dazzling entity took a cautionary step forward then, discarding all doubt in her mind, lept at the poor Hitoka who was shaking in her shoes and almost to the point of tears. "You!" She cried, causing Hitoka to shrink back. "Come with me!" 

And with that, Hitoka had been whisked away by the ice sculpture Kiyoko Shimizu, as everyone else in the hallway had been stunned into silence.   
\---------------------------

Kiyoko Shimizu was out of her element in an almost comical way. Kiyoko Shimizu did not care. 

"What is your name?" The tiny girl mumbled out a syllable or two. "Can you say that again?" Shimizu said, leaning in. A rosey blush spread across the younger girl's face. She tried again to convey the answer to what should have been a very simple question. Anxious, Kiyoko lost herself for a second. "Speak up!" She commanded. The petite blonde shrieked, jumping back. 

Shimizu cringed. "Alright," she sighed. "Just... how about you just listen to me?" Shakily, the smaller girl nodded. "Ok. So, my name is Kiyoko Shimizu. I'm a third year, and the official manager of the Karasumo High Boy's Volleyball Team." 

"My favorite color is navy blue, and I like strawberries." The blonde smiled. "Me too," she giggled. "I'm Yachi Hitoka." Kiyoko smiled. "Hello."


	5. Chapter five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm such a horrible person I'm so sorry I keep not writing this

Yachi Hitoka sat in her room. It was a Tuesday night. She had two pages of math, an essay due, and replacement glitter to buy, yet here she was hunched over an unfinished sketch of Kiyoko Shimizu. 

She had already roughed in the nose and sketched out the eyes. She had the face shape mostly right, from what she could remember. The hair was mapped out, falling across Kiyoko's shoulders in light waves. The glasses sat, perched on the bridge of her nose. The only part that Hitoka had yet to complete was her lips. 

Hitoka had attempted to draw Kiyoko's lips at least eight times now, but they just didn't seem right. She had tried sketching them on seperate sheets of paper. She had tried looking up tutorials, something that Hitoka hadn't needed for almost five years now. She even looked up a picture of Kiyoko from the school's volleyball team website. 

As her eyes scanned over the team photo, she tried to put names with faces. There was Hinata Shouyou, the jumpy boy that she had passed in the hall many times before. There was that perpetually grumpy boy. She thought his name was Kageyama but she wasn't sure. The tall, straight A student Tsuukishima Kei and his nervous sidekick whose name eluded her. 

Her eyes came to rest on the face that had, over the course of a day, had become the most familiar to her. Kiyoko Shimizu had her hair pulled back into a low pony tail. She was wearing a team jacket and she looked almost like she was hiding a smile. Hitoka had no idea why she would hide that smile, because from the one time she had seen it it had been tattooed into her thoughts forever. 

Yachi Hitoka let out a sigh and clicked out of the website. "I wonder why she talked to me," she sighed aloud. Shaking the thought from her mind, Hitoka turned back to her sketch, deciding to just enjoy whatever happened next.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Adhering to a goal lifts the spirit and improves self confidence'- me, right before I forgot this story existed for 100000000 years

Kiyoko Shimizu preferred to avoid confrontation if at all possible. She had stalked Hitoka for almost a week now, and the only responses she had been given were awkward squeaks and the shuffling of feet as Hitoka scurried away from her. After spending nearly all night contemplating the issue, Shimizu came to a decision: it was not possible.  
\------------------------------  
Shimizu lie in wait for the first year in question to exit her classroom. The lunch bell had just rung, and from what she had observed so far Hitoka hadn't packed a lunch, meaning she had to go get one from the cafeteria at some point. Shimizu ran over the plan in her head again. Hitoka couldn't have been more than 100 lbs, so she shouldn't be too hard to-

"Wait!" Screeched an exasperated Hitoka Yachi as the girl Kiyoko had seen with her on the day of the glitter incident came bounding out of the classroom. She was giggling about some 'Tadashi from another class,' from what Kiyoko could hear. Just as Hitoka crossed the threshold of the door, Shimizu sprung into action. 

Leaping forward, Shimizu pulled the shrieking pixie into her arms and gracefully cantered towards the gym.  
\-----------------------

Hitoka Yachi sat in a chair in an unfamiliar office, as a short, friendly-looking man and a literal water nymph blessed by the ambrosia of the gods loomed over her. As tears welled in her eyes, panic flashed across the man's features. "C-calm down, Miss! You're not in any trouble! My name is Takeda- I'm the faculty advisor of the volleyball club. Our manager Kiyoko brought you in to be interviewed for the soon-to-be-open position of club manager!"

Sniffling, Hitoka could only manage one word, before she broke down. "W-what?"


End file.
